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Uncle Dan (Sam) Needs You

By Audrey Manning(courtesy of The Gander Beacon-02/28/05)

How quickly things change. It is a wonder the human mind and body can stand up to all the stressors we encounter on a daily basis. Poor Premier Danny Williams. His high over the signing of the new Atlantic Accord did not last very long.

And it is all about the pork barrel. Funny, isn’t it? No matter the rhetoric before elections, the chickens always come home to roost, after the election is over. It never fails. One can count on it. As my old friend Lo Phat Ham would say, ‘Why would anyone contribute to a politician’s campaign if they were not going to get something out of it?’

Still, there’s a twist to this story. Premier Williams has said that he, and he alone, decided to start an advertising campaign to instill in us a sense of pride. It was he alone who decided to reward the friends.

To be honest, that admission is the most enticing thing about this whole affair. Danny Williams is an interesting study. He doesn’t appear to mind taking ownership and assuming responsibility. You must admit that is pretty heady stuff for a politician.

Open-line shows uncovered a swell of opinion against the advertising campaign, but it was mostly of the mild kind. Mild opposition is not expected to have a long-term impact on the lustre of the premier.

Does it surprise you that the premier is trying to tell you how to feel about your province? It shouldn’t surprise us very much that a person as savvy as Premier Williams would do what business people do best: advertise. We are all dupes for advertising. Advertising, in one way or another, has been telling us what to do and think ever since the First World War.

As soon as politicians realized that people are suckers for the pronouncements of authority figures, they recognized that the power was in their hands to shape public opinion. We have fallen for the message ever since. From its most benign form in telling us what to eat and wear, advertising moves into turning us against each other during elections.

One may, perhaps mistakenly, believe the present feel-good advertising campaign is benign. What could be wrong with spending a little money to help us take back our pride? So, we are presented with the rosy scenario of feel-good propaganda. Our destiny has changed; we are resolute, strong, and in search of a vision.

But is there anything benign about any type of advertising? If advertising were benign there would not be so much of it invading our lives. Technically, every time we listen to advertising, we are giving our consent, so that isn’t the problem. We could turn off the radio or the TV, so it is our choice whether to watch or not to watch.

The problem is that advertising amounts to thought control. It is to the advantage of all advertisers that they bombard us with information about the products that they wish to sell. Studies have clearly demonstrated that mind-numbing repetition overcomes most humans’ will to resist.

You may ask why Premier Williams orchestrated a feel-good advertising campaign when we were already feeling good. The irresistibility of repetition demanded that Premier Williams launch into an advertising campaign when we were feeling our best. It would not have the same potential to be wildly successful had he launched it at any other time. Capitalizing on the existing feeling is a well-known tactic.

Now Lo Phat would ask, ‘Why would we have to be told to be proud, if we are not proud? Shouldn’t we ourselves know whether we have reasons to be proud? Couldn’t we be proud anyway and at the same time be aware of our problems?’

It is time to check the history books. Historical comparisons are insubstantial, at best, but they do provide a reference point as we attempt to understand the present, and make educated guesses about the course of future events. The Newfoundland public are as receptive as the next guys to deceptively emotive messages. The Liberals did it well under Joey Smallwood; the Conservatives continued it under Brian Peckford.

Our society calls itself free, but anyone with enough power and time and money can legally manipulate us into believing as they believe. The media is no more immune from control than ordinary folk. One thing we can count on is that no one will seriously confront our premier as long as we feel good.

The danger inherent in a feel-good propaganda campaign is that we forget our history. Historical amnesia works well when we believe that there is a good reason for decisions. We are especially prone to look at ourselves through a one-way mirror if we believe passionately in a cause. We will overlook much when our future is at stake.

The drumbeat has already begun. Loyola Sullivan in his speech at the Atlantic Accord signing signalled the dawning of a new era for the Conservatives. How many more governments have to go by the wayside before those who filter the past and the present wake up to their moral responsibility?

Lo Phat Ham is Audrey Manning’s recurring fictional character. Ms. Manning, however, is very much a real person, who lives in Lumsden.

The Future is in Our Past

By Audrey Manning(courtesy of The Gander Beacon-01/17/05)

Stupid is as Stupid Does!

Who is Margaret Wente and why is she writing disparaging things about us? Well, if you didn’t know before you know now that this person is a prime example of the uninformed. She is someone who reacts to emotions and believes that s/he alone knows the truth and that there is no need to search for another truth.

Would you believe that is exactly what she said about us when asked if she was alarmed by the public reaction to her article about Newfoundlanders? She said that she was taken aback by the response and those [untutored] Newfoundlanders were acting with their emotions rather than logic.

If it were not so serious one could laugh uproariously at the nonsense. A case of the pot calling the kettle black! And we are so outraged that we will continue to fuel the fire. In the meantime, Ms. Wente will become yet another person who will make a name for herself off the backs of Newfoundlanders. She will become another Farley Mowatt or Brian Davies. It would have been better for us if her get up and go had got up and went!

Why are we so humiliated? Do we believe for one nanosecond that she may be right? It is sincerely hoped not! Where was the logic in Ms. Wente’s article? She bought into every shopworn phrase ever said about our province and its people and did not even question her ‘facts’. That is what is so sad. She says she has learned a lot. But what has she learned? Did she learn that one could become famous for writing pejorative articles?

This lady follows a long line of Mainland writers who buy into the line that people are backward simply because of where they live. Professor Michael Bliss just jumped on Margaret’s bandwagon and we are reminded of Rick Mercer’s “Talking to Americans”. Rick’s program demonstrated just how ill informed professors from famous universities can be.

But it has to be added hastily that Mainlanders are not the only ones who buy into the argument that people can be classified as asinine according to their place of abode. We, in Newfoundland, think Labrador is not quite up to par. St. John’s certainly believes it is above the Outports and we mustn’t forget that Gander thinks New-Wes-Valley/Lumsden is quaint. We are all tarred with the same brush.

Still, on the upside, it’s lovely when we can find something upon which we can all agree. So, back to Margaret! She obviously does not understand the word backward. It is time for the Margarets, the Farleys, the Brian Davies and the Professor Blisses of the world to understand that taking people at their word is not unintelligent. Newfoundlanders refuse to believe that there are con artists lurking behind every seal, whale, cod and development deal.

Yes, Joey Smallwood and John Crosbie and other bright Newfoundlanders gave away the Upper Churchill. Our children learn that at their mother’s breast. Does naiveté equal stupid? What Newfoundlander in his wildest imagination would, first of all, believe that negotiators would agree to such an unfair contract? And in the second place, who would believe that the government of Canada would not see the injustice and take measures to put it right?

And yes, we gave away the fishery too. Well, we might as well have done, for we gave management to the Federal government. It has been said that bureaucrats who had never seen a fishing boat signed deals that they did not understand. It has also been said that Newfoundland fish is used as a bargaining tool to benefit the rest of Canada.

Is that the case? Well, Ottawa may have signed misunderstood deals but there were Newfoundlanders in prominent positions in Ottawa when the fishery was mismanaged. It was not that they had never seen a fishing boat; it was more that they did not see fit to ask the fishermen’s opinion on the fishery. You see they had been led to believe that book larnin’ is better than experience. For instance, what fisherman would know anything about the fishery? For sure we have all bought into that myth. It is the same old story! Margaret Wente all over again!

Did Premier Williams do the right thing when he removed the flag from provincial buildings? Usually my response is nothing right ever comes out of frustration. Now, my stance has changed. It seems about time for Newfoundlanders to stand up and be counted. Michael Bliss thinks we are grandstanding. So, he tells us to leave Canada. Good riddance seems to be his attitude. Don’t make the mistake Margaret Wente made, Mr. Bliss. We have a pristine province with a wealth of natural resources. There are many countries that would be proud to lend us a hand.

As for us, we have one last chance to rid ourselves of our collective inferiority complex. It was sad to see the flag go up again. There are many of us who felt mixed emotions when Premier Williams acted out of exasperation. But once the deed was done shouldn’t we have stood our ground?